Thyreosaurus Temporal range: Middle Jurassic
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Skeletal reconstruction without dorsal plates | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | †Ornithischia |
Clade: | †Thyreophora |
Clade: | †Stegosauria |
Family: | †Stegosauridae |
Subfamily: | †Dacentrurinae |
Genus: | †Thyreosaurus Zafaty et al., 2024 |
Species: | †T. atlasicus
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Binomial name | |
†Thyreosaurus atlasicus Zafaty et al., 2024
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Thyreosaurus is an extinct genus of stegosaurian dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic El Mers III Formation of Morocco. The genus contains a single species, Thyreosaurus atlasicus, known form a partial disarticulated partial skeleton consisting of several dorsal vertebrae, ribs, a limb bone, and dermal bones. Thyreosaurus is characterized by a unique dermal armor with an asymmetrical texture, indicating that it may have been recumbent. Alongside Adratiklit, Thyreosaurus increases the diversity of unique stegosaurs occurring in the Middle Jurassic of Africa.